Ohio Rev. Code § 742.44
Except as provided in section 742.14 of the Revised Code, at any time prior to filing an application for retirement under division (C)(1) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code, a member who has attained the requisite age and is eligible to retire under that division may elect to participate in the deferred retirement option plan established under section 742.43 of the Revised Code.
To make an election, an eligible member shall complete and submit to the Ohio police and fire pension fund a form prescribed by the fund. At this time the member may, but is not required to, elect under section 742.3711 of the Revised Code to have the member's monthly pension calculated as a retirement allowance payable throughout the member's life or a retirement allowance under option 2 in division (A) of section 742.3711 of the Revised Code. Unless rescinded during a period specified in rules adopted under section 742.43 of the Revised Code, the election is irrevocable from the date it is received by the fund until the employee ceases to participate in the plan as provided in section 742.444 of the Revised Code.
A member is not required to specify the number of years or portion of a year the member will participate in the plan but must agree to terminate active service in a police or fire department and begin receiving the member's pension not later than the date that is eight years after the effective date of the election to participate in the plan or be subject to the forfeiture provisions of division (C) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code.
The effective date of an election made under this section is the first day of the employer's first payroll period immediately following the board's receipt of the notice of election.
R.C. § 742.44